What Safe Lock is
Safe Lock is listed as Safe Lock - Hidden Photo Vault, published by Katerina Akhlebinina, on the App Store since March 2017. It has a 4.8 rating from about 25,000 ratings, a 69 MB download and a 4+ age rating. The description leads with the range of locks: PIN, DotLock, numeric and alphabetic passwords, Touch ID and Face ID.
How it protects your photos
The lock is configurable, and the app locks instantly when you shake or flip the phone. A fake password opens a fake gallery. Break-in reports capture photos of anyone who tries the wrong code. A hidden camera with zoom shoots straight into the vault. The listing mentions internal encryption for safety, without naming an algorithm, and says the developer has no access to your photos.
Where your photos go
Only the device, by the developer's statement. Files can be moved by Wi-Fi, or exported to and imported from Dropbox, Google Drive, Yandex.Disk, iCloud and Box. The listing does not say whether those exports are encrypted first.
What it costs
The US listing shows a Premium Account at $4.99, $19.99 and $29.99. Premium unlocks all features.
What the privacy label says
The App Store page states that the developer does not collect any data from this app. No categories are listed.
What the listing does not mention
The sources do not mention a named algorithm, a self-destruct passcode, a disguised icon, face blur, downloading from a link, an encrypted backup in your own iCloud, a recovery key, burner email, private contacts, or sub-albums. See Kryptis vs Safe Lock.
Who Safe Lock suits
It suits someone who wants a lot of lock options, a fake gallery and intruder photos, and cares that the developer collects nothing. It is the most honest privacy label in the set. What it does not offer is named encryption or a recovery path you control.
Kryptis instead
Kryptis is an upcoming option from Tuvo Labs, the publisher of this review. Every photo, video and file is encrypted with AES-256-GCM on the device before it is stored, along with its metadata. The local vault does not require an account. Optional network features have separate data flows described in our privacy policy. A second passcode opens a decoy vault with its own albums, a third erases everything, and failed unlocks are recorded. Backup goes to your own iCloud, already encrypted, and the only way back in after a lost passcode is the BIP39 recovery phrase you were given at setup.
